    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
    [October 5, 2004]
    [Pages 2371-2372]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Transmitting a
    Supplemental Budget Request To Support Comprehensive Response and
    Recovery Efforts After Hurricane Jeanne
    October 5, 2004

    Dear Mr. Speaker:
        On September 8th, I signed into law Public Law 108-303, the
    Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act, 2004,
    which provided $2 billion in supplemental funds for hurricane-related
    disaster relief. On September 14th and 27th, I submitted additional
    supplemental requests totaling $10.2 billion to continue immediate
    assistance to address the impact of Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan,
    and Jeanne.
        Due to the availability of better estimates regarding the damage
    resulting from Hurricane Jeanne, I am requesting additional emergency
    funds from the Congress to address this natural disaster. I now ask the
    Congress to consider the enclosed requests,

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    totaling $691.2 million, for additional emergency resources for the
    Departments of Agriculture, Defense, the Interior, Transportation, and
    Veterans Affairs; as well as the Corps of Engineers, the Environmental
    Protection Agency, and International Assistance Programs.
        I hereby designate these specific proposals in the amounts requested
    herein as emergency requirements. These additional requests will support
    response and recovery efforts to address the critical needs associated
    with the effects of Hurricane Jeanne. In addition to this enacted and
    requested emergency funding, Federal agencies will continue to use
    existing resources and programs for response and recovery efforts from
    all recent hurricanes and storms.
        I urge the Congress to limit this emergency funding to those items
    directly related to the recovery efforts from the impact of these recent
    major disasters and to act expeditiously on this and my pending
    emergency supplemental requests.
        The details of this request are set forth in the enclosed letter
    from the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
             Sincerely,

                                                              George W. Bush